Securities firms have pared 68,000 jobs in the US since the end of 2000.
Retailers dropped on concern that rising oil prices may channel more of people's incomes into gasoline and fuel. Of the 30 companies in the S&P 500 Retailing Index, 26 fell. The index has lost 11 percent this month.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which this week said its December sales lagged forecasts, slipped 60 cents to US$49.16. Home Depot Inc, which last month reported its slowest quarterly growth in at least 12 years, shed US$0.42 to US$23.77.
Amazon.com Inc fell US$1.44 to US$18.86. Even after slumping 14 percent the past two days, the biggest Internet retailer has gained 74 percent this year, the most in the NASDAQ 100.
Broader indexes declined for a third week in four. The S&P 500 lost 2.3 percent this week, the Dow 2.4 percent, and the NASDAQ 1.1 percent.
Corporate profits are expected to rise 13 percent in the fourth quarter and slow to 12 percent in the first quarter, according to the average analyst estimate complied by Thomson First Call. That's down from predictions of 20 percent and 16 percent growth for the periods on Oct. 1.
Unocal Corp dropped US$1.53 to US$30.12. The second-largest US independent oil company cut its fourth-quarter profit forecast, saying oil and gas prices didn't rise as much as it expected.
Silicon Storage Technology Inc shed US$0.26 to US$3.94. The maker of computer-memory chips said fourth-quarter losses will be wider than its previous estimate after prices for its products fell more than expected.
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